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Steve Jobs Teases the Audience

I put that title in quotes because it is stolen from a Wired online article by Momus. Go read it now, because I won’t be nearly so eloquent in what I have to say.

Being at Macworld last week was important for me. As pathetic as it may sound, Apple and its products are a huge defining detail for me and my life. I’ve always liked computers, but when the Mac came out, I was astounded at what computers really could be. Everything before it was nonsense. Baby stuff. I would guess that, by this point in my life, were there no Mac, no well-designed, beautiful, thoughtful, groundbreaking Apple products, I’d be merely ho-hum about computers. My young passion for them would have been lost in the mire of pathetic interface and ugly design.

Part of my enthusiasm and thrill is using a Mac. People who do not use computers enough, or who truly, genuinely do not care about a quality “user experience” (I hate using that phrase), will not get this, and will find using one computer OS the same as using another. But working on a Mac is a pleasure to me. A joy. Like riding in a very fine car or eating some beautifully crafted chocolate. No one gets this, because most people use Windows. To them, that a computer could be a pleasurable experience is laughable. Maybe the Yugo driver would be the same way until he tried a BMW for the first time.

Apple is the one company in the world that can stab me with a product or announcement and garner tangible, visceral reaction. Sitting in Steve Jobs’ keynote last week was an utter thrill. Knowing I was watching, live, the unveiling of what will be (not what may be) an industry-defining device, was true excitement. And I wasn’t alone. Watch his keynote. (Click the “Watch iPhone Introduction” button to cut to the chase.) Listen to the audience in those first few minutes as he builds to the iPhone intro. These people are watching a tech keynote by a tech company? You’d never guess it. Listen to us all in that room! We love this. Forget sports or concerts (though the end of the keynote was a mini concert in and of itself). Give me Steve Jobs announcing something revolutionary any day.

I am being rushed in this post because I’m at work and don’t have time to spend writing it as well as I’d like. But Momus is right on the mark. Read his column and see what I mean about Apple moving people emotionally and, maybe, why it happens.

3 Comments

The Wren Forum » Obsessions Expounded Thusly:

[…] obsession, at least for the past few weeks, has been the iPhone. I have loved my iPhone somehow even before I owned it. I waited in line for hours to get one on June 29th last year. I have used it […]

Friday, July 18th, 2008 • 1:19am • Permalink • This is a Pingback

The Wren Forum » What a Concept! Expounded Thusly:

[…] reality. When I saw Steve-o unveil the iPhone at Macworld in 2007, part of what made it such a thrilling spectacle is knowing that this thing, this amazing chiclet of technology, was going to be real. I would be […]

Wednesday, August 13th, 2008 • 5:17pm • Permalink • This is a Pingback

The Wren Forum » Oh, iPhone, How You Make Me Smile! Expounded Thusly:

[…] but laugh. I knew too much about the damn thing. I had been keeping daily vigil by my NetNewsWire since January to catch every scrap of iPhone news. “Yes,” I said simply. A bit later, orange man […]

Thursday, March 19th, 2009 • 1:15pm • Permalink • This is a Pingback

 

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